The Trombone Alternative Ska and Punk Trombonists of the 1990s. Origins, Rico Rodriguez

This Blog aims to shed some light on a little researched topic of trombone history: The ska and punk trombonists of the 1990s. During a period between 1992 and 2005, horn bands rooted in the rock sub-genres of ska and punk enjoyed a surge in popularity, and inspired a generation of young musicians to pick up the trombone. I will introduce the roots of this trend, progression, and explore performance practices of some of the players who were prominent in this sub-genre. Some of the players to be interviewed in the research included Daryl Burch (formerly of Radio Noise), Jon Blondell (trombone soloist on “Wrong Way” by Sublime), Rick Faulkner (formerly of the Toasters and the New York Ska and Jazz Ensemble). I have found that this is unexplored territory in terms of trombone historical research, in spite of its impact on rock and popular music, and some of that has continued to extend into today. For younger trombonists, and those with interests beyond jazz and classical playing, this is a chance to explore different styles, different performance practices, and also affirmations of their own strengths as performers. For older trombonists, this is a chance to see the trombone musically used in a way that may not have otherwise been even considered.

Another prominent figure in the early years of ska was Rico Rodriguez. Rodriguez was a trombonist who would leave his mark during the 1970s performing with the Specials, as well as leading his own reggae projects. Like Drummond, Rodriguez was Jamaican bred, and was also educated at the Alpha School for Boys.

Rico Rodriguez was enrolled in the school by his mother, hoping to give him a solid education that his family couldn’t otherwise afford. He spoke about his experience there as being tough, but the end result was certainly positive. “The upbringing was very hard, and not really happy. All the juniors wanted to be as good as the seniors, and we didn’t have much joy because we didn’t have an instrument; to get an instrument, you got to be very excellent, and those who cannot play so good don’t have no instrument. So, the competition was so high, and a lot of development come through that. If you have ten trombone players, maybe you have four trombones, so to get a trombone, you have to be better than two or three people.” (Katz, 2015)

Rodriguez turned out to be one of those better players, and was mentored by Don Drummond during his time at Alpha. “The most I know on trombone is what he taught me. He was the only musician that I could sit and practice with every day. More than any other musician from Jamaica, he was my friend, and I was one of the closest musician friends he had. I got a lot from Don Drummond.” (Katz, 2015.) After working as an apprentice mechanic, Rodriguez continued his musical education at Stony Hill Industrial School. He eventually joined the Eric Deans Orchestra, and played on many of the earliest Jamaican recordings that were ever made. (Katz, 2015.)

Rodriguez relocated to London in 1961, and helped fuel ska’s overseas expansion backing Laurel Aitken and Prince Buster. As a solo artist, he began cutting his own reggae releases including Blow Your Horn and Rico in Reggaeland. It was Man from Wareika which was considered to be his most significant breakthrough, and after that he opened for Bob Marley in Europe, and became a part of the Specials, performing the defining solo on “Ghost Town.” (Katz, 2015.) “Playing with the Specials was a good atmosphere. It was very good to be with a band that was so successful.” (Katz, 2015.)

Rodriguez is recognized by his “slow, laid-back lines” (O’Sullivan, Interview 2018.) as well as with a definitive smooth articulation. This is demonstrated clearly in the “Ghost Town” solo, the first sixteen bars are shown below. The progression is a relatively simple I-V progression in C minor. Rodriguez emphasizes the C harmonic minor scale over the bulk of it, emphasizing the seventh on the V chord. Rhythmically he lays back, playing far behind the beat. His use of quarter-note triplets is not common in jazz solos, but highlights the juxtaposition of the ska/reggae eighth-notes against the triplet feel, and also allows him to stay behind the beat. Not shown in the transcription are his use of glissando, which are emphasized in bars 12-16. This is one instance of Rodriguez utilizing what would be considered as typical trombone technique. “I don’t play trombone like a trombonist,” he has said. “I play trombone like saxophone. I really never studied the trombone technique, and maybe if I studied the trombone technique, I wouldn’t be so popular; I would have been sounding like one of the other technicians. Because I don’t play with that amount of technique – it’s more soul feeling.” (Katz, 2015.) That feeling is also stressed in how he uses the “studio magic” to his advantage. The recording is engineered with a high amount of reverb, which is characteristic of a lot of ska and reggae recordings. Rodriguez uses space, and stresses the long notes in order to highlight the effect. With technical runs, he manages to create the illusion of harmony. Later ska trombone solos that used this effect included Mike DeLeon’s solo on “The Re-Burial of Marcus Garvey” (Let’s Go Bowling. Freeway Lanes. Asian Man, 1998) and Buford O’Sullivan’s solo on “William Shatner” (The Scofflaws. Ska in Hi-Fi. Moon, 1995).